Admiral: Firefighting system inoperable on Navy ship
SAN DIEGO — A fire suppression system was inoperable when a blaze erupted aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, so sailors fought the blaze with water, a top Navy official said Monday.
Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck said the Halon gas system had been turned off because it was being worked on while the amphibious assault ship was undergoing maintenance work.
The fire erupted Sunday morning and continues to burn. It broke out in a lower cargo area where cardboard and drywall supplies were stored and firefighters initially fought it with water until they had to withdraw, Sobeck said. Halon is a liquefied compressed gas that disrupts the chemical process of a fire.
At least 57 people were treated for heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation and minor injuries. Five remain hospitalized under observation.
Sobeck said fire had spread throughout the ship Monday. The flames were burning plastic, cabling and other material, but there was still a buffer of about two decks between the fire and fuel supplies.
“In the last 24 hours, 400 sailors have been on board that ship to make sure that, you know, we’re making every effort to save that ship,” said Sobeck, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3.
The fire sent acrid smoke billowing over San Diego, and local officials recommended people avoid exercising outdoors.
Firefighters attacked the flames inside the ship while firefighting vessels with wat er cannons directed streams of seawater into the ship and helicopters made water drops.
Sobeck said there was no ordnance on board, and while the ship holds a million gallons of fuel, it was “well below” any heat source.
All crew members were accounted for, said Adm. Mike Gilday, chief of naval operations.
Because of the ship’s age — 23 years — a fire could be particularly destructive, especially if it reached the engine room and other tight spaces with machinery, said Lawrence Brennan, a professor of admiralty and international maritime law at Fordham University in New York.
“The heat of a fire of this nature can warp the steel, and that can be a major problem for any ship,” Brennan said. “On an older ship, it’s even more of a problem.”